Let’s not kid ourselves and accept that all of us coffee aficionados cannot survive a day without a sip of the heavenly coffee beans. The aroma of the freshly roasted coffee beans brewed into a cup can brighten up any day and lift up any mood. On hot summer days when we crave for a refreshing drink, a cup of cold brew coffee is the solution to all problems. And time and again, we find ourselves rushing to supermarkets or cafes to get our mugs full.
Imagine if we told you that you could have your regular dose of caffeine while being comfortably at home. Sounds amaze right? Well, we are here to tell you all about cold brewed coffee, the recipes, methods to make it in the best way, perfect coffee to water concentration, benefits and more. You So scroll down and read on.
To Begin With, Let’s Find Out What Exactly Is Cold brewed Coffee?
A cold brewed coffee is nothing like a regular pour-over or drip coffee which has been cooled or frozen and served. And at no point it gets hot.
Instead of being instantly brewed for immediate consumption, cold brew coffee is slowly brewed and steeped for over 12 to 15 hours. This process makes the coffee less acidic, less bitter and comparatively more wholesome, more full-bodied and sweeter in flavor than regular coffee.
You can make a batch of it on a day and store it away for fresh consumption up till a week. Sounds amazing right?
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee?
Learning to make a cold brew coffee is truly a child’s play. Find out how:
Step 1: Grind your coffee beans to a medium-coarse texture. Medium texture is considered best for cold brew. Finer texture is said to be ideal for drip coffee or instant coffee.
Step 2: Add four cups of water to the ground coffee mixture and mix it in the container (preferably glass bottle). The ratio of water to coffee should be 4:1.
Step 3: Steep this coffee (or let it sleep on the kitchen counter) for around 12 to 15 hours to soak. This ensures that the coffee fuses into the water to create a rich and strong concentrate. For a stronger flavor, you can choose to brew it for longer, up to 24 hours. But the least time recommended is at least 12 hours so that the flavors are fully infused.
Step 4: Once done, sieve the coffee grounds through a filter and strain the liquid in a fresh container.
Step 5: You can use any bottle or container for this liquid but it is recommended to use a glass container. Now store it away in the refrigerator (and chill it as per your taste).
Step 6: Take it out and enjoy the cold brew with just ice or cream, milk or any other sweetener of your choice.
The Perfect Coffee to Water Concentration
The most important point to keep in mind while making a cold brew is the dilution, i.e. the coffee to water ratio. Drinking the cold brew concentrate as it could make you jittery or make your head buzz for several hours (which is of course not recommended).
The best way is to serve the concentrated cold brew with ice or water in a 50-50 ratio. Or, if you don’t mind a proper beverage, you could also add cream, or any milk of your choice like almond milk, oat milk or cashew milk. This further heightens the taste to make it richer, creamier and more delicious.
Having said that, you can also adjust the concentrate to suit your taste buds. For stronger tasting, rich coffee flavors, you can reduce the ice, water or cream quantity and increase the amount of concentrate that you add. And similarly, for a mellow lighter flavor, you can mix less concentrate with more water, ice or cream. Anything to find the perfect balance for yourself will work.
Tips to Make the Best Tasting Cold Brew
- Grind your coffee beans to a medium coarse consistency. Do not grind them to a fine powder as that is considered more suitable for a drip or pour over coffee.
- The coffee is to be brewed at a ratio of 4:1 with water, where the water is four parts and coffee is one part only. You can double the quantity depending on requirement but you will need to maintain the ratio.
- You can brew and steep the coffee in any jar or mug or bottle of your choice. Although a glass container is recommended for best results.
- It is advisable to use filter water for the cold brew.
- Coffee aficionados advice to brew the coffee for at least 12 hours. You can steep it for longer up to 24 hours but that will give a stronger and more bitter flavor. You will get the time duration correct once you start making it on a regular basis.
- To brew the concentrate, the mixture is to be kept at room temperature. But when you have strained the concentrate, you will need to store it at a higher temperature, in the refrigerator.
- Do not forget to dilute the concentrate. You can do it with milk, cream or simply ice.
How Long Can A Cold Brew Coffee Last?
The best part about a cold brew coffee is that you can make a batch in bulk and store it away for consumption till up to a week or so. The concentrate stays just as fresh in the refrigerator. And you can free yourself from the hassle of brewing it everyday.
Also try this Peanut butter banana cold brew smoothie recipe.
Now that you are ready to ace your cold brew, get going and give it a try. Let us know about your experience in the comments below.
